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Tokyo Electric Power Co. will build two cutting-edge coal-fired power generation facilities in Fukushima Prefecture, the home of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, in conjunction with three Mitsubishi group firms, sources close to the matter said Saturday.

Nuclear regulators on Thursday began a safety assessment process to decide whether two reactors at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant are qualified to restart, nearly two months after the utility filed an application. The move is a sign of progress for TEPCO, which is eager to restart the seven-reactor...

The Tokyo Motor Show opened to the press Wednesday, with leading automakers showcasing next-generation fuel-cell cars and electric vehicles as they look to the burgeoning green car market. At the 43rd motor show, which will open to the wider public from Saturday at Tokyo Big Sight, at least 76 vehicles will be showcased for their world premiere.

It's costly, risky and dependent on technologies that have yet to be fully developed. A decades-long journey filled with unknowns lies ahead for Japan, which took a small step this week toward decommissioning its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. Nobody knows exactly how much fuel melted after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami knocked out cooling systems.

Smartphone applications featuring so-called "augmented reality" are being used by an increasing number of companies to promote their products. Ikea Japan K.K., the Japanese arm of the Swedish furnishing giant, launched a service in August that gives customers a virtual preview of how a piece of furniture will look in their home...

Polish Deputy Prime Minister Janusz Piechocinski said Friday his country hopes to increase its fuel efficiency and diversify its energy sources with the help of Japanese technology. In an interview with Kyodo News in Tokyo, Piechocinski said Japan has "the highest quality of technology in the world..."

Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission on Thursday fined the local unit of South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. for undermining the reputation of Taiwanese mobile phone maker HTC Corp. In a notice on its website, the consumer protection body said that Samsung had organized an Internet campaign in violation of fair trade rules to praise Samsung smartphones while slamming those of HTC.

In the near future, solar panels will not only be more efficient but also a lot cheaper and affordable for everyone, thanks to research by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) scientists. This next generation solar cell, made from organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite materials, is about five times cheaper than current thin-film solar cells, due to a simpler solution-based manufacturing process.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang became the first foreign leader to address Thailand's Parliament in more than a decade Friday as he began a three-day visit aimed at strengthening ties and seeking business for his country's high-speed railway technology .Li told the lawmakers that Thailand and China will boost their trade to $100 billion by the end of 2015...

The United States and Japan moved Thursday to modernize and expand their defense alliance to counter new challenges, including a nuclear-armed North Korea and potential aggression from China over disputed territory. In the first update to the defense partnership in 16 years, the allies agreed to position a second early-warning radar in Japan within the next year to help protect against North Korea.

China criticized Japan on Monday for its plans to install a cutting-edge U.S. military radar system to monitor North Korean missile launches, saying that could impact regional stability and upset the strategic balance. The X-band radar system would boost Japan's ability to track and intercept missiles from across the Sea of Japan.

Japanese automakers launched their low-cost green cars at the 21st Indonesia International Motor Show 2013 that opened Thursday in Jakarta, hoping to capitalize on a new Indonesian government policy that gives tax exemptions for the eco-friendly cars. The luxury tax exemption, expected to give a boost for Japanese car manufacturers, applies to locally assembled vehicles...

An increasing number of companies are opening "mobile stores" amid the successive closure of retail shops in depopulated areas. Mobile stores are big buses and trucks that carry merchandise and visit places where shopping is difficult for residents. Major cosmetics maker Pola Inc. has two 12-meter-long buses selling some 480 items including ceremonial robes, jewelry goods and furs.

An estimated 8,000 people took to the streets Saturday in Tokyo to protest against the resumption of any nuclear power plants, as the only operating reactor was set to be shutdown the next day, leaving none functioning for the second time since the Fukushima disaster in 2011. On Sunday, a reactor at Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Oi plant in Fukui Prefecture, western Japan...

Japan successfully launched a new rocket Saturday that it hopes will be a cheaper and more efficient way of sending satellites into space. The three-stage Epsilon lifted off from a space center on Japan's southern main island of Kyushu, following a two-week postponement. An earlier launch last month was aborted 19 seconds before a planned liftoff due to a computer glitch.

Mobile phone carriers will begin taking pre-orders for Apple Inc.'s iPhone 5c from Friday afternoon in Japan, with NTT Docomo Inc.'s first launch of the popular handset series further fueling competition between carriers. NTT Docomo and its rivals Softbank Mobile Corp. and KDDI Corp. -- which already offer iPhone handsets -- will begin taking pre-orders for the device.

Since Japan introduced a feed-in tariff for encouraging the use of renewable energy sources in power generation in July 2012, a wide range of entities from businesses and civic organizations to local government bodies have been attempting to break into the power market.

In a move toward full-scale digitalization of education in Japan, 12 school textbook publishing companies on Thursday announced their plan to develop a common platform for tablet devices in classrooms. With the help of Hitachi Solutions Ltd., the 12 companies aim to enable as many schools as possible to introduce tablets...

The Japanese government announced Tuesday that it will spend $470 million on a subterranean ice wall and other steps in a desperate bid to stop leaks of radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear station after repeated failures by the plant's operator.

Nissan Motor Co. says it will make cars that drive themselves by 2020. The Japanese automaker made the pledge Tuesday at an event in California. CEO Carlos Ghosn has said before that he wants Nissan to be the first to sell self-driving cars. But Tuesday's announcement was more specific.

Volvo Cars Japan said Tuesday it has begun selling in Japan six models with advanced safety technology for detecting and avoiding collisions with bicyclists. When radar or a camera at the front of these vehicles detects a cyclist, the technology sends a light-and-sound alert and automatically applies the brakes before the car hits the cyclist.

Japan on Tuesday canceled the launch of a new rocket it hopes will be a cheaper and more efficient way of putting satellites into space, saying it suffered a problem that aborted the countdown 19 seconds before it was supposed to blast off. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency official Yuko Hoshikawa said an automatic countdown...

The tablet craze that is currently taking the world by storm has also infected the lesser developed country of Vietnam to a large extent with consumers here eagerly snapping up the increasingly popular smart device. Demand for tablets has been consecutively trending up...

U.S. Internet search giant Google Inc. said Monday it will launch the latest version of its tablet computer, the Nexus 7, in Japan on Wednesday, featuring a lighter body and high-definition images to counter Apple Inc.'s popular iPad and other rivals. Running on the Android 4.3 operating system, the device will be Google's second model...

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met with his Hungarian counterpart Janos Martonyi in Budapest on Friday to agree to strengthen cooperation in the field of energy including nuclear power. Japan is aiming to export nuclear power infrastructure...